An Eight Head Vial Filler (also known as an Automatic Eight Head Vial Filling and Rubber Stoppering Machine) is a high-speed, compact pharmaceutical packaging machine designed for the precise filling and rubber stoppering of injectable liquids into glass vials. It is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for medium to large batch production of sterile injectables, such as vaccines, antibiotics, and other parenteral drugs. The “eight head” refers to the eight filling stations (syringes or nozzles) that operate simultaneously, enabling high throughput while maintaining accuracy and compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards.
Eight Head Vial Filler Video
Key Features
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Construction and Materials: All parts in contact with the liquid or rubber stoppers are made from stainless steel 316 (SS 316) for corrosion resistance and easy sterilization/autoclaving. The machine includes a “No Vial, No Fill” system to prevent liquid wastage if a vial is missing.
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Filling Mechanism: Utilizes eight precision syringes (glass or SS) with nozzles that move up and down via a cam mechanism. Filling occurs during rotary motion on a star wheel, ensuring gentle handling and repeatability. Fill volumes range from 0.5 mL to 100 mL, with accuracy of ±0.5% to ±1% depending on pump type (e.g., peristaltic or rotary piston pumps).
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Stoppering System: Integrated vibrator-type rubber stoppering with a continuous rotary star wheel. It presses 20 mm diameter rubber stoppers with ±1% accuracy using spring-loaded rollers.
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Transport and Control: Vials are fed via an infeed starwheel and conveyor. Equipped with an integrated touchscreen HMI for easy operation, servo-driven motors for smooth motion, and optional sterile isolator for aseptic environments.
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Safety and Quality Controls: Includes sensors for vial detection, checkweighing stations (up to eight), inspection for stoppers, and automatic rejection of non-compliant vials via vacuum starwheel. Minimal particulate generation during sealing.
Operation Workflow
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Infeed: Sterilized vials are unscrambling-fed onto a delrin slat conveyor and spaced by an infeed starwheel.
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Filling: Vials enter the eight-head rotary station; nozzles descend to fill from the bottom, halfway, or top (configurable for foam-sensitive liquids).
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Stoppering: Filled vials move to the stoppering station, where a chute feeds rubber stoppers, pressed in by rotary rollers.
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Outfeed: Completed vials exit via conveyor for capping/sealing (often integrated in full lines).
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Quality Checks: Inline weighing, vision inspection, and rejection ensure compliance.
Salient Features of Vial Filler
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Suitable for the filling Volume of 2ml to 250ml.
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Piston pump/Peristaltic pump aseptic filling.
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Filling accuracy of ±0.5% to ±1%.
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No cross contamination.
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Easy to validate filling system for small/large batch production.
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All Contact Parts Made from Stainless Steel 316L & framework by Stainless Steel 304.
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Variable A.C. frequency drive for speed adjustment.
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Digital Vial Counter for counting production output.
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In-feed Turn Table/ Unscrambler for automatic feeding of objects.
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On-line Mechanism.
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“No Vial – No Filling” System.
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“No Vial – Machine Stop” System.
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IQ/OQ documentation can be provided.
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PLC system with Graphical User Interface. (Optional)
Process Operation of Automatic Vial Filler
The incoming dry vials (sterilized and siliconized) are fed through the unscrambler and suitably guided on the moving Delrin slat conveyor belt at the required speed of the correct placement below filling unit.
The filling unit consists of Filling Head, Syringes & Nozzles; Syringes & Nozzles are made of AISI SS 316L materials. A Star Wheel is provided which holds the vial during filling operation. A sensor is provided for ”No Vial-No Filling” operation. Syringes are mounted on eccentric block and driving through bottom main gear box. Volume can be increase & decrease by increasing or decreasing stroke length of piston as per filling size. Syringes is having non return valve for sucking and delivering situation to avoid volume variation. Liquid reaches to filling nozzles through silicon transparent pipe. Nozzles having up & down movement with help of cam mechanism, and it come down when vial hold by starwheel for filling operation and starts filling when it starts to move up and after completion of filling operation, starwheel delivers two vials together on conveyor for rubber stoppering operation.
Stoppering unit consist of Star wheel, Vibrator unit and Bowl. The sterilized and siliconized rubber stoppers stored in the vibrator bowl moves vertically to the rubber stopper chute. The vial is hold firmly by starwheel, which will be in continuous rotary motion and vial which is coming from filling unit get in to starwheel and move in rotary direction along with starwheel, during movement it picks up the rubber stopper from the exit end of the chute and rubber stopper pressed by fix single pressing roller, which is spring loaded. Then vial further move on conveyor and collected on out feed starwheel for next sealing operation.
Technical Specification of Automatic Vial Filling Machine
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Model |
ALVF-120 |
| Filling Heads |
Eight |
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Production Rate |
Up to 150 Vials/Minute |
| Vial Diameter |
15mm to 70mm |
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Vial Height |
25mm to 140mm |
| Filling Precision |
±1% |
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Power Required |
2 H.P. |
| Electrical Characteristics |
440 Volts, 3 Phase, 50 Hertz |
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Overall Dimension |
3000mm (L) x 945mm (W) x 1700mm (H) |
* Power voltage can be adjusted as per customer’s domestic power voltage requirements.
* Rights of technical improvements & modification reserved.
* Illustrations & dimensions are shown for information purpose only.
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